After the intense relay race came a series of standard track and field events: high jump, long jump, javelin throw, and more.
As usual, the family of three worked together seamlessly, their individual scores adding up to a final total for the overall rankings.
Each dragon clan had its own specialties. In events that didn't rely purely on speed, the Silver Dragon clan didn't have a natural advantage.
Rossweise and Noah were a little worried that the significant lead they had gained from winning the relay race might be lost in these subsequent competitions.
But with Leon on their team, their worries were unnecessary.
It could only be said that Leon's all-around prowess was so formidable it was almost unfair. He was like an invincible warrior, mastering every skill.
If you looked at any single attribute—pure strength or sheer speed—Leon would be outmatched by certain specialized dragon clans. But when it came to overall, well-rounded ability, Leon's advantage was overwhelming. And this was a Dragon Clan Sports Festival!
The fact that he could perform at this level after just some training with Rossweise was astounding. If he were at his peak, wouldn't he be utterly unbeatable?
If a human like Leon had remained on the battlefield, he would have been a nightmare for every dragon clan…
Putting aside those dark thoughts, this was the same human who had managed to impregnate her just before his supposed death. In every sense, he truly lived up to his title as the strongest Dragon Slayer.
That's what Rossweise thought, a complex mix of frustration and respect in her heart.
When the standard competitions concluded, there was no doubt that Leon's family ranked first in the total score. The two little dragon girls were overjoyed.
As long as they performed decently in the final "fun games" segment, the overall championship was practically in the bag.
Leon's mind was already celebrating: Vacation! Vacation! Vacation!
"Alright, everyone! Settle down!" the announcer's voice boomed. "For the final event of this family sports festival, the fun games are about to begin! Let me announce the rules!"
The school official explained from the lectern, "In this segment, the adult dragons and the young dragons from each family will compete separately!"
"The game for the young dragons is called 'Protect the Balloon!' Our staff will attach a balloon to the back of each young dragon. Once your balloon is popped, you're eliminated! The last one standing wins!"
"The adult dragons, meanwhile, will participate in a 'Two-Person Three-Legged Race' in a separate, specially designed course!"
The trigger phrase "Two-Person Three-Legged Race" hung in the air.
Leon and Rossweise looked at each other simultaneously.
The same triumphant thought flashed in both their eyes: We've got this.
The Two-Person Three-Legged Race had been their very firs training exercise, and their synchronization was already excellent.
Rossweise's "prediction" had also been accurate; the final, most critical event was indeed related to it.
However, Leon didn't rush to celebrate. Past experience had taught him that in this damn school, celebrating too early almost always led to disaster.
Just think of the initial interview, or the model family speech later on…
Those moments had truly shaved years off his life.
"As for the specific contents of the Two-Person Three-Legged Race," the official continued mysteriously, "please proceed to the starting point! Discover and enjoy the surprises during the game~"
Leon grinned, a cynical twist to his lips. "Haha, just as I thought. Good thing we didn't pop the champagne."
.
.
.
All the adult dragons from each family gathered at the starting line. Staff members efficiently tied their inner ankles together with ropes.
Once fastened, Leon naturally wrapped his arm around Rossweise's waist.
Rossweise glanced down at the hand resting on her hip, then looked up at Leon with a teasing glint in her eyes. "You're getting a little too skilled at hugging me, aren't you?"
"Practice makes perfect, darling."
"Idiot…"
Despite her words of disdain, Rossweise mirrored his action, expertly wrapping her arm around his waist. The familiar, solid feel of him was still… pleasant.
Looking ahead from the starting line, they saw a temporary structure about fifty meters away—a small booth with an opaque curtain. That likely held the first challenge.
Strangely, Leon felt a flicker of anticipation.
"Okay, contestants~~~ get ready!" The referee raised the starter's torch. "BEGIN!"
With the fiery signal, the tethered adult dragons lurched forward. Chaos ensued immediately.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
"What's going on? Why didn't you step with the tied-together foot first?"
"What? I thought we stepped with the free foot first!"
"Idiot, hurry up and get up!"
"This is so embarrassing!"
"Darling, are you okay, darling?"
"I…I think I pulled a muscle…"
A chorus of pained cries and frustrated shouts filled the air after the starting signal.
"Damn it, who came up with this torturous event? This is impossible!" one adult dragon complained loudly.
"W-Wait… look… some of them can do it…" His partner stammered, pointing a shaky finger down the track.
On the track, two figures—one dark-clad, one silver—were pressed closely together. Their arms were locked around each other's waists, their footsteps perfectly in sync, moving as one seamless unit without a single misstep.
Who are these dragon special forces?! This wasn't just leading by a few lengths; they were in a league of their own. If this kept up, the championship might as well be handed directly to this silver dragon family.
Spurred by this sight, the other adult dragons rallied. Their rhythm and coordination were still a messy porridge, but they managed to hobble and stumble forward.
Meanwhile, Leon and Rossweise, under the astonished gazes of the crowd, were the first to reach the small booth.
They pushed through the curtain, expecting a puzzle or riddle. Instead, they found a simple table, two chairs, and an entire… basin of noodles.
Steam rose from the fresh, slender noodles, filling the small space with a rich, comforting wheat aroma. The hot broth smelled delicious, making one's mouth water—
"However, this is a whole basin of noodles!"
"Not a bowl, not a plate, but a basin!"
As Leon and Rossweise entered, a memory crystal nearby flickered to life, playing a video.
"Welcome to the first challenge: Family Feeding!" a cheerful voice announced.
"The rules are as follows: Family member A must eat all the noodles in front of you, fed to you by family member B, to pass this challenge. Remember, do not change roles midway, as that constitutes cheating. The memory crystal will monitor the entire process."
"Also, the noodles for this competition are sponsored exclusively by Teswah Young Dragon Noodles. Teswah—especially silky~"
Leon smirked. "They even have product placement now?"
"You eat, I'll feed," Rossweise declared immediately.
A sly, almost imperceptible smile played on her lips.
Leon paused. "So, you've already decided that I'm the one eating?"
"Don't you want our daughter to win first place?" Rossweise countered, her tone sweet but firm.
She stepped forward, pulling Leon along by their tied legs toward the table.
Once seated, Rossweise picked up a fork, twirled a generous bunch of noodles, and held it out to Leon's mouth. "Here, let me feed you, ahhh~" she said, her voice soft and uncharacteristically gentle.
It felt strange.
This mother dragon was suddenly being so tender, even during a competition. It was unnerving.
Leon eyed her suspiciously but opened his mouth and accepted the noodles.
Slurp.
He swallowed the first bite. It tasted normal. Maybe he was overthinking it. Perhaps the mother drago n should be playing some trick, or else these noodles would feel like they were sitting wrong in his stomach.
"Mmm, delicious. Here, take your time, no rush," Rossweise cooed.
She smiled sweetly as she speared another large portion and brought it to his lips. Before he knew it, Leon had been fed four or five mouthfuls in quick succession. He finally realized what was wrong!
Despite her words of "take your time," her feeding speed was so fast it left afterimages! In just twenty seconds, he'd been fed multiple portions! The rapid pace, combined with his efforts to chew and swallow, left him feeling utterly overwhelmed.
"Slow down… We're already in first place, there's no rush," Leon managed to say between mouthfuls.
"Hmm? Alright, I'll listen to you. Here, open wide~" Rossweise replied, her voice still sweet as honey, but her hands never stopped moving.
Leon blinked, muttering, "I thought you said you'd slow down," as he obediently opened his mouth again.
After feeding him that bite, Rossweise immediately twirled another massive forkful.
Leon swallowed with difficulty, waving his hand. "I can't do it anymore, let me catch my breath."
"No, don't be lazy when you're eating, that's a bad habit. Come on, dear, open up~"
Dear.
Dear?!
That was the sweetest tone Rossweise had used yet. Even though she said "dear" so sweetly, the feeding speed was something ten "dears" couldn't make up for!
And based on Leon's understanding of Rossweise, she wouldn't be this attentively nice to him just for a competition.
In a flash, Leon understood—this was revenge!
This was the mother dragon's long-awaited payback!
Not long ago, when Rossweise had first awakened from her weakness, Leon had pressured her to drink fish soup.
Oh no, he thought, she seized this perfect opportunity for retaliation!
"Come on, dear, move a little quicker. Come on, dear, ahh~"
"Wife, calm down. The vice-principal said Friendship first, competition second."
"Yeah, and you're third, so both friendship and competition are more important than you. For Noah's sake, eat up, dear~"
With that, Rossweise pinched Leon's chin and stuffed another forkful of noodles into his mouth.
"Mmmph—!"
.
.
.
Meanwhile, outside the booth, the game's host, the energetic pink-haired dragoness named Pineapple, continued her lively commentary:
"Alright, folks! Following the Melkvey family, several other families have now reached the first stage!"
"Ohhh~Watching them feeding each other so affectionately reminds me of my first love! We also shared such a beautiful romance~"
"Look,everyone! Lady Petalia of the Rose Dragon clan is tenderly wiping her husband's mouth with a napkin!"
"And Lord Crag of the Stone Dragon clan,he's gazing at his wife with so much love throughout the entire noodle-eating process! It's so touching! So moving!!"
"Now,what about our exemplary family, the Melkveys? Let's take a peek—"
"Oh my…it's… quite a bold scene, indeed! We can see that the husband of the Melkvey family seems to be trying to escape the table, but because of the two-person-three-legged rule, he can't move more than two steps away from his wife!"
"And we see Lady Rossweise using her Silver Dragon speed advantage to frantically stuff noodles into her husband's mouth!"
"Uh…the action is so fast it almost looks like a sparring match…??"
"Then, I'd like to ask a rather personal question… do you two usually feed each other like this at home?!"
.
.
.
Despite the… enthusiastic feeding method, Rossweise and Leon still finished the challenge with a first-place time.
"Congratulations on passing the first stage!" a recorded voice chirped. "There's some digestive aid medication outside the door. Just take it with water; it works quickly!"
The couple stood up. Rossweise was beaming, her expression one of pure satisfaction as she supported the pale-faced Leon out of the booth.
Sure enough, a glass of water and a digestive pill waited outside. She helped Leon take it and "gently" patted his chest. "You were so brave, my warrior."
This wasn't care; this was the smug satisfaction of successful revenge!
Leon gave her a sidelong glare but said nothing. He looked at the lanes on either side; they were still the first team out. Despite the painful process, they were maintaining their lead!
"Let's get to the second stage," Leon said, his voice a bit hoarse.
"Mm," Rossweise agreed, a spring in her step.
Because the digestive aid hadn't fully taken effect yet, they moved at a slightly slower pace. The second stage was also inside a small booth.
The setup was similar: a table, two chairs. But this time, a game host—a lively Geode Dragon with crystalline scales—sat across from them.
"Please, have a seat! The second stage is called 'Answer Irrelevantly.' I will randomly ask you various questions, but remember, your answers must be completely unrelated to the question asked."
"For example, if I ask this gentleman for his name, you should answer 'I am male' or 'I have a daughter,' and so on."
"There are ten questions in total. If you answer with a related response, you'll be penalized by ten seconds."
The challenge of this game was to override one's instinct to give a reflexive, logical answer to simple questions. With "time" as a penalty, the pressure to avoid mistakes was high, often causing players to slip up.
The couple exchanged a glance and sat down. After all, saying one thing while meaning another was a basic survival skill in their relationship!
The second stage began.
"So, for the first question, sir: What color is your wife's tail? Please answer immediately!" The host's pace was fast, clearly trying to pressure Leon.
Leon, who had just been under pressure from his wife, almost instinctively formed the "S" for "Silver" with his mouth but caught himself just in time.
"Duck!"
"Very good, excellent! It seems this gentleman—"
Before the host could finish his praise, he immediately swiveled to Rossweise. "What is your husband's profession?"
"Dragon Slayer—oh… uh, I mean, Draconian!" she blurted, correcting herself too late.
The host was taken aback. "Do we have a 'Draconian' branch? Let's let this one slide."
"Oh, yes, we do," Rossweise recovered smoothly.
"It's a very small, now-disbanded branch. My husband married into our Silver Dragon clan from there." She offered a perfectly reasonable, if entirely fabricated, explanation.
The host nodded, slightly confused but moving on. "Okay, next question—"
The following questions were all designed to trick them into giving straightforward answers. According to the game's rules, they had to fight that instinct.
During the process, Leon and Rossweise made a few mistakes, earning a twenty-second penalty. But they gradually found their rhythm and stumbled their way to the last two questions.
"Sir, which part of your body are you most satisfied with?"
"My wife."
Rossweise facepalmed silently. Even while following the rules of giving unrelated answers, did he have to make it so… suggestive?
"Okay, for the final question! The weather today is so nice, perfect for a sports event. I really want to know how things are going in the young dragon group—"
The host kept throwing out these "filler" phrases, chatting casually one moment and then snapping out a question the next. Leon stared intently at the host's mouth, nervously waiting for the trap.
"If I could, maybe I'd become a forest ranger after retirement—do you love your husband?"
"Love—" Rossweise almost shouted the word, her instincts taking over completely.
Leon: ?!
Host: !
They had stumbled at the very last hurdle! A ten-second penalty was inevitable!
But just as the host was about to announce the penalty, Rossweise, in a moment of brilliant improvisation, twisted the word into a new sentence.
"Love—oops, I get lazy when it comes to doing homework."
The host was stunned.
You managed to twist it around like that?!
Rossweise also let out a silent sigh of relief.
The host, feeling utterly defeated, made a "you win" gesture. Since it was an entertainment event, he wasn't going to be too strict. As long as it was entertaining, it was fine.
"Well, congratulations to both of you for passing the second stage!"
The host stood up and opened the curtain for them. "But seriously," he added with a wink, "being able to instinctively answer 'love' like that… it must be true love!"
Rossweise's face flushed slightly. Don't take it seriously! she screamed internally. I just said it without thinking!